This bidri papercutter has a fish shaped handle with half feather design. It is handcrafted by skilled artisans in Bidar, Karnataka.

In the 13th century, a well established Persian technique of inlaying silver and gold onto copper or steel was introduced in India, probably by the followers of Khwaja Moinuddin Chisti. In the 14th century, Sultan Alauddin Bahamani got his master craftsman Abdullah bin Kaiser to work wit local artisans and they produced a black alloy made from copper and zinc that was used instead of silver and gold. This is how this world famous art form with its striking pure silver inlay came to be called Bidri.

Some Special Facts:

Only 99% pure silver is used to make bidri products as it doesn’t lose its lustre with oxidisation

Surprisingly, gold inlay is not used for Bidri because the end products aren’t as elegant as silver ones